Manufacture of boots and shoes



(No Model.)

' L. F. NORMAN.

MANUPAGTURB 0F BooTs AND SHOES.

No. 292,503. Patented .Ja-n.29, 1384.

Mbna..-

, UNITED' VSTATES PATENT @Erica LAVRENCE F. NORMAN, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETIS.l

MANUFACTURE voF BooTs AND sHoEs.

SPECIFICATION `femm@ part of Letters Patent No. 292,503, dated Janv-.ary 2'9, 188,4,

Application filed February 17, 1883. (No model.) A

To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, LAWRENCE F. NORMAN, a citizen of theUnited States, residing in Boston, in the county of Suifolk and State of Massachusetts, have invented a new and useful Improvement-inthe Manufacture of Boots and Shoes, of which the following is a specification.

The object of my invention is to produce a boot or shoe in which the fore part of the inner sole is free from wax-thread stitches, nails, pegs, or screws, and in which the sole shall be very iiexible.

My improvements relate especially7 to that class of boot or shoe .in which the edgeof the fore part of the upper is turned outward, and in connection with a shoe of such kind I employ a sole and a surrounding welt, the latter being, however, cut from sole-leather inthe form that the welt is to have in the completed boot or shoe, thus avoiding the employment of a welt cut as a straight strip, and subsequently bent into sole shape. A Welt, the

curvature of which is determined by cuttingrather than bending, as heretofore, will be free from wrinkles or puckers, so that such a welt, when being stitched to the upper and the latter to the outer sole below it, will lie morel closely to the upper, and so avoid the formation of gaps between the welt and upper, and produce a more symmetrical welted Iedge.

of manufacture, showing the half-sole with the edge of the upper drawn through the slot or within the inner edge of the welt and turned outward. Fig. 3 isa section online xx of Fig. 2. Fig 4 represents the half-sole with the marginal welt'raised.

In the process of themanufacture ofthe boot or shoe, the upper e is turned in and fastened in the usual manner at the heel and shank port-ion, as indicated in Fig. 2. The inner sole, a,

Fig. 1, has a slit, b, cut through it near its edge, the said slit, as shown, being extended entirely around the toe and along the sides thereof to the points d d, near the edge which crosses the shank portion of the shoe, thus leaving a separate edge which forms a welt, c, cut from the sole and cut in the form that the said welt will ultimately assume in the completed boot or shoe, thus avoiding the employment of a bent welt. The shank part g of the inner sole, with the edge of the upper laid over it, is secured as usual to the outer sole, i. The edge of the upper is cut or slitted at each side near the shank," thus permitting its rear portion to be turned in upon the heel and shank portion of the inner sole, while the forward portion of the upper is passed inside the inner edge of the welt and turned outward beyond the said welt, as best shown in Figs. 2 and 3, after which the outer sole, t', is applied, andthe welt, upper, and outer sole are attached by means of stitches, screws, nails, or other fastenin gs passing through the same, the said fastenings not, however, entering the part a, and, owing to the fact that the front and side edges of the latter are free, the shoe is left very soft and lieXible in the sole in advance of the shank. The edges of the several parts are'then cut and trimmed in the usual manner, and the welt being free from puckers, as would not be the case were it a, straight strip Yof leather bent about the last, enables the production of a smoother edge.

By means of my invention I dispense with the ordinary bent welt applied to the outturned edge of the upper, and supply its place by the welt c, formed in the'shape that it isultimately to retain, the same extending 'about the half-sole or the fore part of the inner sole, thus effecting a saving in the cost of manufacture, and improving thequality of the bootv and shoe.

In accordance with the method herein shown and described, I am enabled to makeambootuor shoe possessing all the advantages of a handmade welted-shoe, and at a cost notvexceeding vthat of a boot or shoe having nails, tacks, or

wax-thread in the inside of the fore part ofthe inner sole.

What I claim as my vinvention is- 1. In a boot or shoe, a sole or half-sole, a,

circumferentially cut or-slit from or near the shank entirely around its sides and toe portion, thus leaving a separated Welt or margin, un upper having the edges of the fore part passed down at the inner side ofthe said welt, or through such cut or slit, and having its edge turned outward underneath such welt, und an outer sole united to the welt und outturned upper by suitable fustenings, the said sole a being disconnected from the outer sole and upper, as described, and for the purposes set forth. i

2. In a boot or shoe having an outer sole and out-turned upper, as described, :L Welt cut from leather, substantially in the form which 

